Beliefs/Mission

Our Mission

The mission of Savannah River Baptist Church is to glorify and exalt our Lord Jesus Christ. We do this by obeying Christ’s great commission to “go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel,” (Mark 16:15) and by obeying His great command to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength,” and to “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Mark 12:30-31).

Our Vision

“But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) In obedience to Christ, Savannah River Baptist Church strives to have a local, regional, national, and global impact through sound Bible preaching and teaching, Christian education, and supporting missions worldwide.

What We Believe

The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Bible, “as it is in truth, the Word of God…” (I Thessalonians 2:13). We believe the Scriptures to be the inerrant, infallible Word of God, as found within the 66 books from Genesis to Revelation. We believe in full verbal inspiration of every word of the original writings, and in God’s preservation of His pure words to every generation (II Timothy 3:16, Psalms 12:6-8; 1 Peter 1:23-25; 2 Peter 1:19-21).

The Masoretic Text of the Old Testament and the Received Text of the New Testament (Textus Receptus) are those texts of the original languages we accept and use; the Authorized King James Version of the Bible is the preserved Word of God for English-speaking people. The Bible is our supreme authority for faith and practice.

The Godhead
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; II Corinthians 13:14).

The Person and Work of ChristWe believe Jesus Christ to be the one and only Saviour of mankind. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; 7:14; Philippians 2:5-8; Galatians 4:4-5).

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His finished work on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5).

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24, 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2).

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Person who reproves the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, indwelling all believers and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11; II Corinthians 3:6; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14).

We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayer of believers for physical healing (II Corinthians 12:12; I Corinthians 13:8; Hebrews 2:3-4; Mark 16:17-20; I Corinthians 1:22, 14:21-22).

Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and that man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition
(Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12).

The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image and is mindful of him, and in that Christ died for man; therefore every individual possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love (Psalm 8:4-9; Colossians 3:9-11).

The Way of Salvation
We believe that the clear message of salvation is “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). We believe that salvation is “by grace” plus nothing minus nothing. We believe that men are justified by faith alone and are accounted righteous before God only through the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12; I Peter 1:18-19).

The Church
We believe that the New Testament church is a local assembly of baptized believers who have voluntarily joined themselves together to carry out the Great Commission. The Lord is doing His work in this world through local churches. The establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11).

The innkeeper in the Christmas story lacked hospitality. Unlike the wise men who traveled from afar to see the Lord Jesus, the baby Jesus was brought to his very doorstep. Did he role out the red carpet? Did he prepare the best bed or spread out the softest blankets? Sadly, no. He was presented with the opportunity of a lifetime to welcome God in human flesh into the world and he blew it. The innkeeper was supposed to be the hospitality expert. He of all people was prepared to make the arrival of Jesus comfortable, but he was more concerned about padding his own wallet. So, what was his problem? It's the same problem we all must battle this Christmas: distraction. Distraction doesn't just rob us of the ability to focus, it robs us of the ability to focus on the right thing. It wasn't that he was not focused on serving; he was focused on serving everyone but Christ. Like Martha, he was cumbered about with much serving. Simply put; he was just too distracted. Don't imitate the character of the innkeeper this Christmas season. Determine to protect your mind and time from becoming distracted from the real reason for Christmas. -Pastor Dale Montgomery ...

Not a day goes by that we don't stand in front of a mirror to inspect our appearance. But could you imagine, after looking at yourself in a mirror, and noticing all of the wild hairs and blemishes, only to rush out the door without making any changes to our appearance? How embarrassing! Did you know the Bible compares itself to a mirror? The unique thing about the mirror of God's Word is that it not only reflects who we are on the outside, but it also reveals our character on the inside. James 1:23 "For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass [mirror]:" We would never dream of starting our day without looking into a mirror and correcting ourselves. But how often do we rush into another day or another week unchanged from God's Word? Do we care that we are acceptable in God sight? What good is a mirror unless we are willing to admit to our blemishes and correct them? Will you be honest with God, and allow the Holy Spirit to make some changes in your life? After all, every change is only for our good. -Pastor Dale Montgomery ...

When Solomon was made king of Israel, he was blessed with a rare opportunity by God to ask for whatever he wanted. If you could have the same opportunity, what would you choose? Is more wealth your greatest need? Better health? A better retirement plan? Closer friendships? Solomon could have chosen anything, but he chose wisdom. The Bible says in the book of 2 Chronicles 9:23, "And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put into his heart." Whether you are a ruler or in retail, you need wisdom. If you are a teacher or a technician. A public official or a plumber, wisdom is your greatest need. This week you and I will face numerous decisions. Some of them will be large and important and some of them will be tiny and seemingly insignificant. As followers of Jesus Christ, every decision we make is important. That's why every decision that we make this week should be put through the filter of this question: "Is it wise?" Asking this question helps us to distinguish between what is merely good, and what is best. This week, let's choose to walk in wisdom.Pastor Dale Montgomery ...